1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to stop mechanisms for knitting machines, and particularly to a safety ring for protecting stop motion switches.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Knitting machines, especially circular knitting machines, are commonly provided with stop motion switches. These switches, examples of which may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,329,427, are each associated with a thread of yarn, and act to stop the machine whenever a thread breaks or the yarn supply on a cone associated with the switch becomes exhausted. If the stop motion switch is defective and the machine is not stopped in the presence of these conditions, needles, of which there may be approximately four hundred, will be broken by thread build-up at their tips. The breaking of the needles will also ruin the material being knitted by the machine. Further, a mechanic may spend an entire work day restoring the machine to working order. It is virtually impossible to determine if a stop motion switch is defective before it fails to function during operation of the knitting machine.